Episode 463: Listeners Ask the Difficult Questions
Date June 4, 2014 Summary Ben and Sam answer listener emails about pitch selection, recruiting skills, bionic arms, and learning to scout. Topics * Randomizing pitch selection * Players recruiting each other * Bionic arms * Team cycles * Learning to scout Intro Of Montreal, "Don't Ask Me To Explain" Banter * Webb/Albers update: The Orioles had a six run lead going into the ninth, but opted not to pitch Ryan Webb. * Episode 454 follow-up: Zachary Levine wrote in to suggest that baseball eliminate tagging up. Email Questions * Vinit: "One of the bigger pitching bromides is 'to keep them guessing'. Presumably pitchers have tendencies and hitters are aware of them. If a catcher had access to a random number generator to call every pitch in game what advantage, if any, would the pitcher gain? I understand that not every pitcher can throw any of his pitches at will but this would at least work for the first pitch. You could even make the random number generator weighted such that you get a precise mix of pitches say 65% fastballs, 20% changeups, etc." * Eric: "Gentlemen, Shi Davidi penned a nice article about Juan Francisco's rise with the Jays and mentioned that Edwin Encarnacion was a driving force in getting him in Toronto. How often do we hear players say that about another player? Is this actually very common and it just isn't publicized much? Would we consider this a point for Edwin's intangibles?" * Andy: "The other day a read a story about the FDA giving approval to the first arm prosthetic capable of complex motor control by translating signals from a patient's muscles to the prosthetic. The piece highlighted its durability and lists some tasks it's capable of doing such as using locks and keys, preparing food, eating, using zippers, and brushing and combing hair. Meanwhile, our great national nightmare of young pitcher Tommy John surgeries marches on. This got me thinking about the place prosthetics could play in baseball, giving baseball its own incredible bionic pitcher. Now I'm not suggesting players chop off their arms instead of getting surgery so that they can get a bionic limb, but rather consider this: Mitch Harris, a current Cardinals minor leaguer served in the Navy after being drafted. Suppose that during that time, either due to an accident or enemy fire, he had lost an arm and the Navy outfitted him with an advanced prosthetic capable of such complex motor control that he could still pitch. How do you think MLB would respond?" * Matt: "We often believe there is a divide between scouts and stat heads. Scouts often believe stat heads are missing something because they aren't scouts but this is seemingly unfair. Any person can read the book, comb through stats, crunch some numbers and learn database management in the comfort of their basement. However scouting is incredibly difficult to get into. You can't learn to scout by reading a book and watching a game, especially if you aren't in a certain geographical location. You have to have the finances to travel to watch hundreds of games and players, develop relationships with a scout that can teach you to scout, and once you've done that you might be lucky enough to attend scout school. How can we make proper scouting more accessible to the average fan?" Play Index * Sam uses the Play Index to see if there are seasons where a team has not hit for the cycle (the entire team in a game, not just one specific player). * Since 1920 every team has had a team cycle at least once in a season. * The 1974 Mets were the closest any team has come to not hitting for the cycle in a season. Notes * Sam, on the Webb/Albers 'race', This record is worthless to me! That's the point, Ben!...It's not a record that we need to have a lot of integrity about." * Ben & Sam agree that it is fairly common for players to talk to/recruit each other when looking at teams, but it just may not be reported that often. * The San Diego Padres have never had a player hit for the cycle. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 463: Listeners Ask the Difficult Questions * The Baseball Sandbox Experiment by Sam Miller * Blue Jays' Francisco converts power to results by Shi Davidi * A Man with a Plan by Joe Lemire Category:Email Episodes Category:Episodes